MY CHRISTIAN TESTIMONY

My daughter Crystal made friends with Eva, the girl across the street. Both girls were about five years old. Eva took Crystal to a church youth night at Pineridge Family Church, pastored by Ken Watson. The youth program was called AWANA. The kids earned points by memorizing scripture and bringing friends to church. Crystal, being very competitive, decided to invite us to church to score points. Not being raised in a Christian home, I was almost against the idea, but went along with it. It surprised me that not everyone in church was old! There were couples our age! Some of them were even "cool!" We made friends with many including Lorne Anderson and his wife Vivian. Lorne was a reporter with the Pembroke Observer and a self-proclaimed Christian musicologist. We became very good friends.

At a home fellowship group one night, Lorne put on a tape by Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad. I thought he was being sneaky. The guy from Grand Funk being played in a Christian home?! Haha! I thought "the joke's on them! Man, Lorne is such a rebel!" But, the joke was on me since Farner was playing Christian music! I didn't find out for at least a year!

Soon after my wife, Janice and I had dinner at Pastor Watson's house and became Christians after dinner. We've been faithful ever since, although I'm not sure if we knew what it was really all about at first. Does anybody?!

I remember being a new Christian and hearing Geoff Moore and the Distance - Christian music. I thought, "man this guy is as good as the other secular groups I like - like John Cougar, the Rolling Stones". One day, I was in the car with my new Geoff Moore cassette and my Rolling Stones cassette. I was deciding what to listen to and it seemed very strange that I chose Geoff Moore over the Stones. "What is happening to me?" I wondered. It was then that Christian music became a huge influence in my life and accelerated my walk with God.